LISTENING OUT IN THE WORLD

Third Coast listening events (often called "Listening Rooms") present unforgettable audio work in a public setting -- a theater, a coffee shop, a bar -- anywhere with a good set of speakers and where people can gather together and listen. Each event features a special guest and includes a diverse selection of documentary audio work. It’s a little like a book club for radio.

Also! Have docs, will travel. In fact, Have docs, love to travel. The TCF also sponsors and supports other types of audio events in Chicago and beyond. Want us to visit your city or town? Collaborate with your organization?Let us know.

On January 20, 2009, a woman from Cape Verde was found dead with her two children in her small apartment in the St. Pierre district of Marseille, France. The tragedy was heavily reported across France, but then largely forgotten. Two reporters spent in-depth time with people in the neighbourhood, family, school and community, to learn more about Lolita and why she died. Six months of investigation resulted inthe internationally-acclaimed documentary Who Killed Lolita?: a tribute, a portrait of a community and of an individual destiny.

Join Third Coast,ARTE Radio co-founder Silvain Gire and Who Killed Lolita? co-author Mehdi Ahoudig for an evening of listening to this internationally-acclaimed documentary, and a discussion afterward about the making of Who Killed Lolita?, and the challenges of producing such personal documentary work.

Note! The program will be played in French, with English transcripts provided.

Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen says nobody ever talked about the most important historical event ever to happen there: in 1862, it was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Thirty-eight Dakota Indians were hanged after a war with white settlers. John went back to Minnesota to figure out what really happened 150 years ago, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it much after.

In this evening's program, we'll hear excerpts from John Biewen's audio documentary Little War on the Prairie, reflect on the impact of this historical event, and seek to understand how to tell complex stories that touch on critical social justice issues.